477: American McGee - From Doom to Dark Wonderland - The Retro Hour EP477

477: American McGee - From Doom to Dark Wonderland - The Retro Hour EP477

We’re joined by legendary game developer American McGee, who takes us on a journey from his humble beginnings on the Timex Sinclair and Commodore 64 to designing iconic levels for Doom II and Quake. He shares behind-the-scenes stories from iD Software, reveals how a Ferrari-driving neighbour turned out to be John Carmack, and discusses the gothic inspirations behind American McGee’s Alice. Plus, we hear about his time at EA, and why being fired from iD turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to him!

Contents:

00:00 - The Week's Retro News Stories
35:28 - American McGee Interview

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Show notes

YouTube Turns 20: https://tinyurl.com/mrx88ybs
Windows on Game Boy: https://tinyurl.com/25mkwpdp
OutRun the Movie: https://tinyurl.com/5n6r8ntk
Neon Hearts City: https://tinyurl.com/yvezebcn

Upcoming events

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PT1210 – https://www.ptweekender.com/
RetroMessa – https://www.retromessa.no/

Jaksot(500)

476: The Commodore Amiga at 40: The Original Developers' Story - The Retro Hour EP476

476: The Commodore Amiga at 40: The Original Developers' Story - The Retro Hour EP476

As the Commodore Amiga celebrates its 40th birthday, we hear stories from original developers Dale Luck, Jeff Porter, Andy Finkel, and others. Recorded live at VCF East in New Jersey, our Dan gets the...

18 Huhti 20251h 56min

475: The Story of Unreal Tournament – With Producer Neil Haldar - The Retro Hour EP475

475: The Story of Unreal Tournament – With Producer Neil Haldar - The Retro Hour EP475

This week we’re joined by Neil Haldar, a pivotal figure behind the legendary Unreal Tournament. From dropping out of medical school to leading major projects at Sierra Online, GT Interactive, and MGM ...

11 Huhti 20251h 42min

474: The Dark Origins of Horror Games - The Retro Hour EP474

474: The Dark Origins of Horror Games - The Retro Hour EP474

This week, we catch up with Richard Moss and welcome first-time guest Connor O’Keane, the creative minds behind the spine-chilling documentary series TerrorBytes. In this follow-up to our earlier chat...

4 Huhti 20251h 27min

473: What Gen-Z Can Teach Us About Retro Tech – Kari Lawler Joins The Show - The Retro Hour EP473

473: What Gen-Z Can Teach Us About Retro Tech – Kari Lawler Joins The Show - The Retro Hour EP473

This week, we’re joined by YouTuber Kari Lawler, who’s breathing new life into vintage systems! At 21 years old, Kari’s love for old-school computing spans BBC Micros, Apple IIs, and even programming ...

28 Maalis 20251h 26min

472: RogueCraft: Making The Ultimate Modern Amiga Game - The Retro Hour EP472

472: RogueCraft: Making The Ultimate Modern Amiga Game - The Retro Hour EP472

This week, we chat to the creators of RogueCraft, a stunning new Amiga title that recently won an award at the Debug Indie game awards. Ricki and Henning from Badger Punch Games tell us about their ro...

21 Maalis 20251h 37min

471: The Elder Scrolls: How It All Began with VJ Lakshman - The Retro Hour EP471

471: The Elder Scrolls: How It All Began with VJ Lakshman - The Retro Hour EP471

This week, we hear about the origins of The Elder Scrolls with the legendary VJ Lakshman, co-creator and a key figure in Bethesda Softworks’ early days. From the D&D roots of Elder Scrolls, and how pr...

14 Maalis 20251h 41min

470: GOG: Meet the Heroes Saving Your Favourite Childhood Games - The Retro Hour EP470

470: GOG: Meet the Heroes Saving Your Favourite Childhood Games - The Retro Hour EP470

We chat with Marcin Paczyński, Senior Business Development Manager at Good Old Game, and Adam Ziółkowski, Technical Engineer, to hear about their new Preservation Program. Launched in November 2024, t...

7 Maalis 20251h 35min

469: Behind the Scenes of GTA 3 & Guitar Hero with Kelly Sumner - The Retro Hour EP469

469: Behind the Scenes of GTA 3 & Guitar Hero with Kelly Sumner - The Retro Hour EP469

In part two of our epic interview with Kelly Sumner, we move beyond Commodore and into his time at GameTek and Take-Two Interactive. Kelly shares behind-the-scenes stories from the launch of GTA 3 and...

28 Helmi 20251h 30min

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